Why It’s A Crappy Idea For Tourists In Canal Park To Feed The Seagulls
As a native of the Northland I'm no stranger to hearing people complain about the tourists feeding the seagulls. I've always thought "oh let em' have their fun, they don't have gulls where they live". Until last night when it hit me....literally.
As I mentioned, I live here so the odds of this happening to me increases greatly. But, up until last night I had beat the odds of being pooped on by a seagull in Canal Park. I really can't blame the tourists for the incident, obviously that's where most of the seagulls are. But, it doesn't help when they get fed and are hovering waiting for that morsel to be shared. (I know several locals do the same). However, it was ironic how it all went down!
My husband, daughter and yes, even the dog were out for a run. My daughter had wanted to start running and it was our first time out together. We started at Bayfront Park, went around the back of the DECC, across the blue slip bridge and under the Aerial Lift Bridge as the sailboats were heading out for the Wednesday regatta. We were trying to make her first time out fun, interesting and as painless as possible so she wouldn't give up running after one time out.
As we were running toward the Lake Walk from the Maritime Museum my husband was letting the dog run through the grass where the seagulls like to hang out because the tourists and popcorn stand are right there. I was prompted to say, "don't let him step in fowl fecal defecation". Just as the word defecation was coming out of my mouth, I felt a splat. I remember thinking it was like a warm rain drop. But, as I looked at my shoulder out of the corner of my eye, I saw it. Seagull poo. It had splattered on my daughter running next to me too.
Then chaos hit, Kylee and I was freaking out. Kylee suggested I use my shirt I had taken off earlier in the run and tied around my waist to wipe it off at the same time I was asking Homie if he'd take off his shirt and let me use that. Homie was laughing hysterically. Finally, a woman sitting on a bench adjacent to where the pooing incident happened suggested I go to the popcorn stand and get napkins. I thanked her for remaining calm thinking logically while we were freaking out.
The evening ended on a good note with a DQ and a shower and Kylee making the decision to keep running. I told her we'll always remember her first run now!